CLEVELAND — If the Baltimore Ravens manage to turn their season around — climbing out of a 1-5 hole and back into contention for meaningful football in January, maybe even February — they’ll likely point to one sequence from Sunday and to offensive coordinator Todd Monken’s bold decision to call a brand-new play added only days earlier.
That play, fittingly named “Hurricane,” became the turning point in Baltimore’s 23–16 comeback win over the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field. No one seemed to know how the play earned its name, but the Ravens have struggled in short-yardage situations all season and again on Sunday, forcing Monken to get creative.
“We just put it in this week,” fullback Patrick Ricard said. “We practiced it a couple of times.”
It was a gutsy moment to unveil something so fresh. On a cold, windy afternoon in which Baltimore’s offense looked overwhelmed for more than three quarters, the Ravens and Browns were tied with under three minutes remaining. Harbaugh had watched Cleveland’s defensive front dominate much of the game and strongly considered sending rookie kicker Tyler Loop out for a long field-goal attempt on fourth-and-1 from the Cleveland 35.
Instead, “Hurricane” got the call.
“I was excited,” Harbaugh said. “It was a good call.”
Tight end Mark Andrews agreed: “A perfect scenario to pull it out.”
Over the past two seasons, the Ravens have often relied on Andrews taking the snap and pushing forward behind Derrick Henry — their version of the Eagles’ “tush push.” But this play had a twist. If Andrews didn’t like the defensive look, he could check into the standard sneak. If he did like what he saw — and no one was eager to reveal what that key indicator was — he was to take the snap, turn right, follow Ricard and tight end Charlie Kolar, and attack the edge.
Andrews liked the look. Thirty-five yards later, he was in the end zone with his first career rushing touchdown, delivering the winning points and extending a resurgent stretch for Baltimore’s defense.
“It was so beautifully executed,” Harbaugh said. “A good idea has many fathers, but execution is what makes it great.”
At the snap, Jackson and Henry sprinted left, freezing defenders. Right tackle Roger Rosengarten and Kolar sealed defensive end Isaiah McGuire inside. Kolar then climbed to block linebacker Carson Schwesinger. Ricard kicked out safety Grant Delpit, who seemed momentarily stunned. Andrews hit the crease and reached 20.09 mph, per Next Gen Stats.
“I thought the play was dead,” Ricard admitted. “Delpit just stood there. Then I turned and saw Mark flying past me.”
Baltimore’s defense, steady all afternoon despite offensive mistakes, sealed the win when linebacker Roquan Smith broke up Shedeur Sanders’ fourth-and-5 pass to David Njoku. The Ravens may have gotten away with an apparent offside on the play, but in a jubilant locker room celebrating a season sweep of Cleveland, no one lingered on it.
The Ravens have now won four straight, including three on the road. They sit at 5–5, 2–0 in the AFC North, and remain one game behind the division-leading Steelers. Up next: three straight home games, beginning with the 2–8 New York Jets.
“This isn’t the end. We’re 5–5,” Harbaugh said. “Our heads are just above water. We’re breathing, but we’re not out yet. That was a tough, hard-fought win against a really good team.”
Henry, who ran for 103 yards and a score, said games like this shape a season.
“It feels better than 1–5, I’ll tell you that,” he said.
The win came despite Lamar Jackson throwing two interceptions — one off Keaton Mitchell’s hands that Devin Bush returned 23 yards for a touchdown, and another in the red zone immediately after cornerback Nate Wiggins intercepted Sanders, who had replaced a concussed Dillon Gabriel in the second half.